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“The IMSI-catcher,” Terri clarified. She then went on to explain how it functioned.
“And I’m planting this exactly where at the Business School?”
Terri gave her a building and room number. “Just put it in the closet there. That’s all the proximity I need.”
“I can do this any time?”
“Sometime between now and four p.m.”
Simone blew out a breath. “Let’s get into the specifics of this twosided plan. For starters, how do we know Jia li will be away from her apartment when we want her to be? Especially since we don’t know for certain when Aidan will give us the go-ahead?”
“The Gulfstream should be landing in Osijek at one a.m. Croatian time, which is still four p.m. PST,” Terri reported. “Aidan and the team will already have their plan in place. The strike will be imminent.”
“That still doesn’t pinpoint the time.”
“Agreed. So I’ve isolated our window of opportunity. Jia li is registered for the winter session at Stanford Business School. She has no classes today, but she does have a seven p.m. meeting of her business club—a meeting that generally runs a minimum of an hour and a half and often as long as two.”
“In the room you just gave me.”
“Yes. According to her credit card receipts, she eats at the same off-campus café every Thursday evening at six. It’s a twelve-minute drive from her apartment to campus. Which means you can park outside her building and watch her leave, probably between five thirty and five forty-five.”
“Then our start time is pretty well set,” Simone replied. “But what about our end time? It’s possible we won’t hear from Aidan until dawn, Croatian time, which is about nine tonight, PST. That’s tight.”
“After her club meetings, Jia li and a few of her friends hang around and have a few pizzas delivered. It appears to be their weekly ritual. She stays in the same classroom for at least an hour, which gives us extra padding. It should be enough. You’re correct that there will be pressure. But you stand up well to that.”
Simone smiled at Terri’s typically brusque compliment. “I appreciate your vote of confidence. I got your specs on Jia li’s car. I know I’m looking for a BMW M4 blue metallic convertible—which should be more than easy to spot, just in case she’s already exiting the apartment complex when I see her. Now, what other details do I need to know up front?”
“I texted you Jia li’s photo and address.”
“I have both. Pretty girl. Nice garden apartments from the photos I saw online.”
“Nice but understated. No doorman or front desk—handy for someone who wants to keep a low profile and entertain visitors who prefer to remain anonymous. Jia li’s unit is on the first floor—apartment five, to the left of the lobby—so you won’t have stairs to navigate. On the other hand, it’s bound to be a higher-traffic area. Plus, you’ll have to find a way to get into the building itself, which will require a key card to gain entrance.”
“Understood. I’ll handle it.”
“Call me after you’ve left the school and again when you’re situated at the apartment,” Terri said. “I have my own homework to do in the meantime. Plus, Aidan already gave me his instructions about hacking into the TSA. I’ll penetrate their firewall and be ready to add the suspects to the No Fly List when Aidan gives me the go-ahead.”
27
Eighteen hours left…
Abandoned farmhouse
Ðakovo, Croatia
2 March
Friday, 2:25 a.m. local time
Everything was in place.
The Zermatt jet had landed on schedule. Aidan had jumped into the passenger seat of the black SUV, and Marc had peeled off, heading for the rescue site, where Philip was waiting for them.
Marc parked behind the stand of trees adjacent to Philip’s vehicle.
“Give me an update,” Aidan instructed Philip, vaulting out of the car and tossing his ski jacket into the back seat. As he spoke, he zipped open his gear bag and removed all the necessary equipment. He pulled on his bulletproof, standard military-issue vest—which he loaded with two flash grenades and extra ammo—and shoved his Glock 27 nine-millimeter pistol into his thigh holster. He then collected his Peltor headset, which would block out the deafening noise created by their flash grenades, and his flashbang-proof goggles. Last, he readied his H&K nine-millimeter MP5 submachine gun and yanked on his Nomex gloves. Marc had hopped out of the SUV and was going through the identical process.
Philip was already in full gear, so he used those precious minutes to give Aidan a full report.
